2004 Verison
Inspiration and
Scoutship

PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT

Deep Space Explorer Inspiration will be remodeled and retextured from scratch using Rhino 4 and Flamingo 2. The new model will include a number of design enhancements.

CONCEPT

Deep Space Explorer Inspiration is the flagship for the Deep Space Exploration Group, a space fleet more akin to the United States Coast Guard than the United States Navy. The Inspiration is set in a fictional era a many centuries from the present. That fictional era is somewhat like that portrayed in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series from the 1980's-1990's but differs in that is has much fewer star-faring sentient species and has more peaceful interstellar relations. While equally capable of exploration, defense, and search and rescue missions, Inspiration class Deep Space Explorers spend most of their time serving on long-term exploration assignments.  As such, they have some living accommodations for families and visiting scientists in addition to regular Deep Space Exploration Group personnel.

Deep Space Habitat Depths of Dream serves as the home base for Deep Space Explorer Inspiration. It is a titanic facility that is about as large as a mid-sized metropolitan area. The population of Depths of Dream lives in an arcology inside the large central dome as well as small towns inside the nine spokes that radiate from the center. A tall engineering shaft protrudes down from the central dome. Surrounding the central dome are sizable nature preserve domes with a variety of natural eco-systems. Agriculture and aquaculture rings encircle the nature preserves starship harbors are attached to the end of the spokes. Depths of Dream thus serves as a self-sufficient colony of the Deep Space Exploration Group. By the era of Deep Space Explorer Inspiration, such Deep Space Habitats have become the focal points of human star-faring civilization.

COMMENTARY

The design for the Deep Space Explorer Inspiration is based on a Star Trek inspired ship I did as a teenager around the time of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It is meant to reflect the optimistic, non-military-oriented view of the Star Trek universe depicted in the first couple seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Deep Space Explorer Inspiration is a decedant of Deep Space Explorer Aquarius with both designs existing in the same fictional universe. The conceptual inspiration for Deep Space Explorer Inspiration is the Galaxy class USS Enterprise from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I see both vessels as romanticized versions of future human starships. These two starships share a number of features: 1) the ability to separate into two smaller vessels, 2) shielding systems that allow them to closely approach high energy insterstellar phenomena, and 3) teleportation systems capable of transferring lifeforms from one locatation to another.

The concept for Depths of Dream was born while I was taking a leisurely walk at a local nature preserve in 1999. I wanted to create a gigantic space-borne community that also served as a kind of space-ark. I also wanted to incorporate the number nine as a recurring design theme linking Depths of Dream with my identity as a member of the Baha'i Faith. The number nine is used in the design of all Baha'i Houses of Worship around the world. Another space-based design of mine that mimics even more literally Baha'i Houses of Worship is Star-Faring Habitat Daybreak of Discovery. Deep Space Explorer Inspiration and Deep Space Habitat Depths of Dream both symbolize my conviction that humanity has a glorious future ahead of it, a future that perhaps even involves interstellar space exploration.

DIGITAL RESOURCES

Modeling - Rhino 4 and TrueSpace 6.6
Rendering - TBD and TrueSpace 6.6
Textures - TBD, Marlin's Studios Amazing SF Textures, Infinite Fish website
Backgrounds - Universe Image Creator and Hubble Space Telescope website
Running Lights - Universe Image Creator
Miscellaneous - CorelDRAW, Corel Photo-Paint and Adobe Photoshop

PRIMARY DESIGN INFLUENCES

1. Inspiration - Spacecraft Discovery of the science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey

2. Depths of Dream - Large conceptual starship design by Syd Mead

3. Depths of Dream - New Avatar Station by fellow speculative spaceship designer Jeff Robb